Congress sticks out its neck on the Nuclear deal

As most of the readers are aware, India and the U.S. are in advanced talks to complete signing an agreement that will benefit both countries. It is the Nuclear deal that I am talking about. While the Indian government, in particular the Congress, feels that the agreement will do a lot to enable India to make use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, the Left parties of India, in particular, the C.P.I. (M), feel that the agreement is a virtual sell-out to the U.S. and will destroy the independent nature of India's stand vis-a-vis the U.S.' foreign policy (w.r.t. Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, etc.)

Now, the Congress party has garnered the support of many of its supporters in the United Party Alliance circle (the U.P.A.) - such as the Samajwadi Party, the Nationalist Congress Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party (the SP, the NCP and the BSP respectively). Even with this support, however, the Congress government cannot maintain majority in the Lok Sabha, and if the C.P.I. (M) withdraw the external support it had been providing the U.P.A., the central government will fall.

The next step in the signing process is India's presentation of safe-guards to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA, www.iaea.org) in August. Let us see how this drama unfolds. It remains to be seen when the government falls ... as it will, as I see it.